1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for evacuating hydrocarbons from a distressed or damaged oil well (or oil and gas well) such as a hurricane or storm damaged oil well. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for evacuating hydrocarbons from a distressed or damaged well wherein a specially configured ported plug apparatus seals all strings of exterior casing but provides an orifice to the casing string which holds the production tubing, and wherein the plug can hold excessive pressure, enabling injection through a well tree or crown valve to force the hydrocarbons up through the plug and back to the surface in a safe and controlled process.
2. General Background of the Invention
After tropical storms such as hurricanes, wells can sometimes be damaged to the point where they must be “killed” or shut in. At times, these wells are tilted over or moved to a generally horizontal position as a result of wind and/or wave action. These damaged wells must be killed as they are sometimes active producers of hydrocarbons which can cause leakage, spillage or other environmental problems. These damaged wells typically will have some form of hydrocarbon material trapped in the production tubing and/or in the casing which can be grouted, un-grouted or multi-grouted.
These trapped hydrocarbons must be evacuated from the well before the well “kill” and/or related plug and abandonment operations can take place. Traditionally, the evacuation of hydrocarbons from such a damaged or distressed well is performed by drilling a hole through all of the casing strings to a position next to the production string. A fitting such as a nipple or collar is fitted to the pipe, sometimes under a small pollution dome. A hose is attached to the pollution dome for enabling migration of the oil or hydrocarbons up to the water. Because the oil is lighter than seawater, the oil migrates out of the drilled pipes and back to the surface. This prior art procedure can sometimes take a long period of time such as, for example, about three to four (3-4) days with added expense.